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31.10.12

Hi everyone!! Style and fashion wise, I have been so inspired by my lovely blog friends these last few weeks- From the lovely Mrs Thats Not My Age whose love of French Chic, current crush on midnight blue and Burberry trenchcoats has inspired me big style. Not forgetting the wonderful Vintage Vixen who is a constant style inspiration with her never ending awesome jumble sale finds and her love of faux fur.

So based on these lovely ladies style loves, it was easy to create my Autumn Thrift Essentials List- the concept of which is currently being posted by Atlantis Home here and here and which gave me the inspiration to share with you my favourite finds this year and last year which have made my top picks for this season:

First are these black cowboy boots that are by New Look that I found earlier this year-they were only £2 and with cowboy boots firmly back on the style radar this Autumn make these my footwear choice this season-perfect with black skinny jeans:

This next find was a few weeks ago-its a mens slightly oversize v neck merino wool sweater by Gant in this seasons favourite colour of wine. It's a great layering piece-a great alternative to a sweatshirt and was found in the Salvation Army for just £3.99. It's also my take on getting into this colour trend without going up the coloured jeans route-not to say they aren't great but a mid blue shade of jean is my current style choice for Autumn:

Of course a v neck will require a couple of different style blouses and my next find is one I've had for a couple of years now-it's a midnight blue vintage crepe de chine pussy bow blouse by Aquascutum which was another bargain from the Salvation Army for just £2.99. A pussy bow blouse is a perfect Autumnal style as it means a scarf is not required with your chosen outfit:

My next find was from the summer boot sale and is an oyster silk shirt (originally a shirt dress, but shortened by me as the bottom was too tight!) by Equipment- a total find for £2 and perfect for under v neck sweaters:

My most recent find was this vintage mens trenchcoat- I was drawn to it as it is a perfect knee length and just slightly oversized if I want to wear a chunky sweater or layers underneath-its a fine example of trench coat tailoring and was £14.99 from the Barnados charity shop:

My last find was a total Vix find in that I found it from my one and only jumble sale of this year for a rock bottom bargainous price of £1.50! It is a faux fur gilet by the Debenhams brand 'Maine' and I've worn it twice already, making it a current cost per wear of 75p!! I love how its a size bigger than my normal jackets so I can wear it as a layering piece over my favourite black leather biker jacket and the collar is a high one, making it soo cosy and the colour is perfect-a mix of light and dark grey:

So thats it!! What bloggers have inspired you for your latest buys this Autumn, I'd love to share your current style crushes! Thanks for all your well wishes-along with my current regime of R&R, they have made me feel so much better emotionally if not quite physically, lol!! All your comments are so much appreciated and I hope you're all having a great week so far!

27.10.12

Hi everyone!! Just as I got back in to blogging, life and health issues came to the fore and I had to put blogging on the back burner yet again! So as I am currently having to rest as much as possible due to health reasons I thought I would try and get my blogging mojo back on track.

I've always loved leopardprint and in a wardrobe cull last month a couple of leopardprint items were pensioned off which meant there was an opening for a potential new purchase. I didn't really want any clothing, such as a coat or blouse, so I when I browsed my favourite style of bag-the tote- recently, I was suitably inspired to get something that featured leopardprint.

Having been using a Louis Vuitton Neverfull tote bag solidly for nearly a year for work, I was already convinced that this was the style I wanted in my next purchase and if I could have leopardprint as part of it then it would prove to be a smart buy. My lovely DH treated me to the Autograph leopardprint tote a few weeks ago and although it seems a pricey purchase at first, on a cost per wear basis and how many different occasions it can be used for, it really was a worhwhile style investment.

Leopardprint never dates and the Autograph tote has three compartments-1 middle zipped one and two either side, an inner zipper smaller back compartment and a phone and little inner front compartment. The zippers on the outside could even be used as mini compartments! It really is a fabulous bag and I'm sure is one I'll be using for a long time to come.

Is leopardprint back on your style radar this season, how will you be wearing it?

17.10.12

Hi everyone!! This time of year is when I really enjoy going through my scarf collection to see what ones I will still keep and wear and also determine what will be this seasons new purchase for myself.

I have adored Liberty scarfs forever-not only are they super stylish and timeless, but they are certainly an investment buy which will last for decades too.

For inspiration, I browsed Liberty London's scarves section and immediately fell in love with this black winter fruits wool silk scarf which is massive enough to wear draped as a shawl or spun round to form a more everyday scarf. In fact Liberty have made 2 great video series on 'how to tie a scarf'. Do check it out, my favourite is of course the oversized scarf video which is exactly how I intend to wear my newest purchase.

Unfortunately the scarf above is way out of my budget, so I put my thrifting skills to good use and I found this wonderfully large Liberty Veruna wool scarf a liitle while ago from a vintage seller on ebay for around a fifth of the cost of the ones currently in Libertys:

The print looks like it could be from the 80s and the scarf is in excellent condition-I have already worn it and its proved to be a cosy and stylish addition to my scarf collection. As a lover of all things floral, this is a perfect winter accessory that will stay in my wardrobe for years to come.

What winter accessory will you be adding to your collection this season?

8.10.12

Janine Chisholm is an Eco designer and stylist who works from her Bristol harbourside studio and through her passion of vintage clothing, sewing, arts and crafts has just published her new book, 'Thrifty Style'.

It is packed full of ideas of how to upscale and accessorise existing items in your wardrobe or pieces that you've found in the charity shop or boot sale and wish to alter to recreate unique and wearable loved items.

Step by step guides for beginners and sewers alike will find this very inspirational- my favourites in the book were the boyfriend shirt tunic, a white dress with a back crotchet insert and tops made from vintage scarves.

There are also 3 pull out patterns in the back of the book to recreate totally new pieces from existing items that are no longer required in your existing wardrobe too!

There is also some very handy sections regarding sewing techniques, equipment and UK suppliers too.

This book is really ideal for anyone who has toyed with the idea of recreating existing things in their wardrobe and are not quite sure how to go about it-this book is definitely inspiring and will turn any outdated vintage piece into something modern and stylish for any chosen occasion.

Janine has her own website called 'Custard House Clothing' where you can find out more details of the workshops she runs, buy her book and catch up with her blog.